J's Cafe Nette

This Washington Post article describes what the emboldened Democrats intend to do to harrass President Bush after the Easter recess (in addition to what they have already done.)

Here are some quotes:

Even as their confrontation with President Bush over Iraq escalates, emboldened congressional Democrats are challenging the White House on a range of issues — such as unionization of airport security workers and the loosening of presidential secrecy orders — with even more dramatic showdowns coming soon.

For his part, Bush, who also finds himself under assault for the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, the conduct of the Iraq war and alleged abuses in government surveillance by the FBI, is holding firm. Though he has vetoed only one piece of legislation since taking office, he has vowed to veto 16 bills that have passed either the House or the Senate in the three months since Democrats took control of Congress.

Despite the threats, Democratic lawmakers expect to open new fronts against the president when they return from their spring recess, including politically risky efforts to quickly close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; reinstate legal rights for terrorism suspects; and rein in what Democrats see as unwarranted encroachments on privacy and civil liberties allowed by the USA Patriot Act.

“I suppose there’s always a risk of going too far,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), “but the risk of not going is far greater.”

Yes, Mr. Hoyer, there is a great risk of going too far and we have seen in the recent past the American people are above-all fair-minded unless all the fair-minded ones have died and we are left with the radicals who think child-like behavior is acceptable.

Why do you think the public rallied around Clinton if not for their sense of protecting the underdog and the one who has been fairly or unfairly badgered?

Democratic leaders appear to believe there is hardly any territory they cannot stray onto, a development that has Republican political operatives gleeful and some Democrats worried. Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, warned of a “political price” at the polls: “If they let their constituents and their ideology drive them past the point where the American people are comfortable, they will find how quickly the voters will react.”

Leon E. Panetta, who was a top White House aide when President Bill Clinton pulled himself off the mat through repeated confrontations with Congress, sees the same risk. He urged Democrats to stick to their turf on such issues as immigration, health care and popular social programs, and to prove they can govern.

“That’s where their strength is,” Panetta said. “If they go into total confrontation mode on these other things, where they just pass bills and the president vetoes them, that’s a recipe for losing seats in the next election.”

But even conservative Democrats insist their party is in no danger of overreaching its mandate from the November elections.

Panetta is right. And where is this “mandate” they claim? They have a two-seat majority in the Senate, one of which is Independent Joseph Lieberman who usually votes with the Republicans on issues of National Security.

The United States House of Representatives has 231 Democrats, 201 Republicans and two vacancies, one due to a death.

With such slim majorities, where is the mandate?

I just spoke to my congressman’s office to get the makeup of the House and asked the aide where the mandate is? She asked what I meant and I told her I keep hearing the Democrats talk of the mandate they got in November. I reminded her Nixon claimed a mandate and had won by a landslide but the Democrats denied he had a mandate.

Her answer was not one House Democrat lost the election in November and this is how they claim their mandate. I disagree. The numbers are too close and the partisianship is too great and too hateful, and I want adults in charge.

Is that too much to ask?

The Captain is also blogging on this story in a much better way than I can.

Written by Jeanette

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